No panic buttons please

By Kofi Akordor
Everything new comes with its challenges. So was the biometric registration exercise which started in all the regions last Saturday. Most of the problems recorded were anticipated and, therefore, quickly rectified by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).
From reports received from some of the registration centres, it was obvious that many people did not get the message on the registration schedule in the cluster of four polling stations where the exercise was to last for 40 days with registration at each polling station in the cluster lasting 10 days.
This might have brought about the unusually large number of prospective voters to some registration centres to add up to some of the problems already expected. The EC, therefore, has to step up public education in this direction so that people do not resort to any panic measures that could trigger a chain of unpleasant events.
With the Nigerian experience as a guide, where even with a greater number of prospective voters, lesser number of days were used, we should assure ourselves that by the end of the 40-day exercise, every Ghanaian qualified to be registered to vote will have his or her name on the biometric register.
Some of the problems as stated earlier should be expected. They include equipment failures which were recorded at some of the registration centres. These machines are quite sophisticated and delicate and needed to be handled with utmost care.
Our tropical environment is also another factor which can prove hostile to the machines knowing perfectly their origins.
The human factor could not be ruled out as some of the registration officials were also handicapped in a way and could not operate efficiently on the machines as was expected of them. These and others might have contributed to the long delays experienced at some of the centres.
The fact that at one centre at Madina, an Accra suburb, as many as 196 people were registered on the first day means if prospective voters will comport themselves and go through the process patiently, the exercise will end successfully.
It is assuring that the EC has so far responded to some of the challenges such as equipment failure with the needed urgency.
What we must seriously guard against is the activities of overzealous party activists who may want to define their own rules at the registration centres. Already there are isolated reports of some people challenging the eligibility of some people and trying to prevent them from registering on the grounds of age or nationality.
There were also reports of unknown persons driving in an unregistered vehicle moving from one registration centre to another in parts of Kumasi to disrupt the registration process. These are clear recipes for disaster and the earlier the EC and the security agencies arrest the situation, the better.
The rules are quite clear. If in doubt of any person’s qualification, or eligibility, just fill the complaint form and leave the rest for the rightful institutions to do the rest. Any attempt to impose one’s will at the registration centres can prove disastrous.
The media, especially the radio stations, must also act responsibly when reporting on the exercise, especially where there are challenges in order not to inflame passion that could trigger a chain of events and jeopardise the exercise or even undermine national security. Every challenge must be seen as an isolated event that could be rectified without compromising our national equilibrium.
The exercise is still at its infant stage. But from all accounts, apart from the alleged hooliganism of some unknown persons in Kumasi, the exercise has proceeded smoothly and peacefully at most centres and it is the general expectation of every Ghanaian that that would be the situation throughout the registration period.
The EC must also pick useful lessons from the exercise and prepare adequately for voting day. On that day, many people will be more aggressive and agitated and may not have the patience in the event of equipment failure.
It was also evident that we spent more time wrangling among ourselves whether to go biometric or not. When the decision to go biometric was taken, another long period was taken to decide on biometric with verification. This left the EC with very little time to do intensive and extensive public education.
We must applaud ourselves for venturing into an unknown exercise with comparative success in the hope that each day will be better than the previous one.
It is better we harp on our strengths while working hard to remove all bottlenecks as we move along. It will, therefore, not be in the national interest for anyone to use one unfortunate episode to generalise the situation and press the panic button.

fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
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